Planned Parenthood abuses, American taxpayer loses

WASHINGTON — The Alliance Defense Fund Tuesday officially made public its report to Congress identifying waste, abuse, and potential fraud by Planned Parenthood affiliates across the nation that may amount to multiple millions of dollars in wasted taxpayer money. ADF attorneys prepared the report to aid Congress in its investigation of the abortion giant. The Susan B. Anthony List has partnered with ADF on the effort.

“Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Catherine Glenn Foster. “Planned Parenthood has to play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to a penny of public funds, especially if it is committing Medicaid fraud.”

The October 2011 report states, “In our experience, based on the publicly available audits summarized herein and confirmed by our confidential sources, Planned Parenthood’s primary motivation is to take advantage of ‘overbilling’ opportunities to maximize its revenues in complex, well-funded federal and state programs that are understaffed and rely on the integrity of the provider for program compliance. Thus, Planned Parenthood’s primary motivation appears not to be to provide quality healthcare to patients who seek family planning services, but rather to enhance its profits.”

The report goes on to identify 12 types of potential fraud being committed by Planned Parenthood affiliates across the nation. The potential fraud includes billing and being reimbursed by Title XIX agencies for medications and/or services provided in connection with an abortion, which is illegal under federal law.

Other billing violations include billing in excess of actual acquisition cost or other statutorily approved cost for contraceptives and Plan B products, inappropriately billing for services that were not medically necessary, billing for multiple initial prenatal care visits, and incorrectly billing initial, follow-up, and postpartum services.

The report, prepared for Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida, who is leading the congressional investigation, comes on the heels of the decision of the Susan G. Komen Foundation to withhold funding from Planned Parenthood if the investigation by Congress is “criminal and conclusive in nature.”

The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of more than 330,000 Americans dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.